Speaker 1: Inside Netbore getting you closer to the game you love
Speaker 1: with Adean Wilson, Hannah Stanley and Jenny woods By news talks.
Speaker 2: That'd be good and welcome to Inside Netball as we
Speaker 2: count down to the beginning of the A and Z Premiership.
Speaker 1: Just a dnn Anie on board today.
Speaker 2: Jen is otherwise engaged touring the Central North Island.
Speaker 1: Last spotted at that in her path.
Speaker 2: She loves to just find all these great places, didn't
Speaker 2: she dang out of the way of cyclone ten probably
Speaker 2: which we all had to endure over the easter period. Yes,
Speaker 2: now east here talking about that. I know you had
Speaker 2: a little bit of mini break.
Speaker 1: You now have found a new sporting love. You have
Speaker 1: joined the love of golf. Is there any club strow
Speaker 1: on this weekend? I am now middle aged. I have
Speaker 1: joined the middle aged team of golfers.
Speaker 2: Not quite as good as you ade not getting as many,
Speaker 2: not a very high standard. But yes, I shot my first,
Speaker 2: my best ever front nine the other day at remu
Speaker 2: Ere fifty which I was quite everywhere. But yeah, It's
Speaker 2: taken me a whole year to get into it, and
Speaker 2: I'm just starting to see why people can get the bug. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and it helps that they have all these women. She
Speaker 2: love golf events that you do a chip and sip
Speaker 2: and I think it's that sip of wine at the
Speaker 2: end that are chair on top.
Speaker 1: So yeah, other people get into golf.
Speaker 2: It's so good and it doesn't require quite as much fitness.
Speaker 1: Look the A and Z Premiership.
Speaker 2: It's only three weekends away, with the first game being
Speaker 2: played on Saturday, the tenth of May between the Pulse
Speaker 2: and Magic. Over the next two episodes, we're going to
Speaker 2: pre review each of the six A and Z teams,
Speaker 2: starting today with the Mystic Stars and Magic. But before
Speaker 2: we break down play a movement and which teams are
Speaker 2: looking sharp, we're going to jump across the Tasmani yet
Speaker 2: again and chat with former Stars coach Kitty Wills and
Speaker 2: get her take on her new role as head coach
Speaker 2: of the Queensland Farbirds. It was a brave decision by Kitty,
Speaker 2: with the far Birds arguably in disarray after a couple
Speaker 2: of tough seasons and cycling through a number of coaches,
Speaker 2: but Kitty has made the perfect start. Two games, two
Speaker 2: wins and silencing the doubters.
Speaker 1: Inside Nipple, you had a kidd, he is so great
Speaker 1: you could join us. How are you?
Speaker 3: I'm great, ladies, great too.
Speaker 4: I know that people can't see us, but I can
Speaker 4: see you too, and it's awesome to see you both
Speaker 4: both looking fab.
Speaker 2: As are you looking fabulous on our zoom chat Look?
Speaker 2: How is the families? How have you sailed into Queensland life?
Speaker 2: Two kids at school? Has it been a big adjustment?
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was massive, probably more so for the kids
Speaker 4: than me. I think you know, I'm living by myself
Speaker 4: in an apartment, which is quite novel for the first time,
Speaker 4: and however many years I think John and I have
Speaker 4: been together almost twenty five years, so it's been massive
Speaker 4: for John and I, but we're so busy that it
Speaker 4: doesn't really make too much of a difference to him
Speaker 4: and I. But the other kids probably struggled a little
Speaker 4: bit when they got into boarding school. My little mate
Speaker 4: Charlie was messaging me every day telling me he wanted
Speaker 4: to go home and go back to his mates at
Speaker 4: some kids, which was yeah, very very stressful on the heart,
Speaker 4: I know, and there are a lot of things that
Speaker 4: he was asking me questions about that I just didn't
Speaker 4: know the answers, and so I felt quite helpless. But
Speaker 4: after a week they settled in Grace. Grace was probably
Speaker 4: a little bit smoother, but still struggled. So it's it's
Speaker 4: full on but great.
Speaker 3: They love it. They love boarding now.
Speaker 4: They still missed their mates in New Zealand and at
Speaker 4: their old schools, but they're settling in. They've made heats
Speaker 4: and mates, and I think boarding is really important for that.
Speaker 4: I think if we're to come over here and they
Speaker 4: were just at school as day kids, that would have.
Speaker 3: Been even harder.
Speaker 4: But boarding they've got sort of ready made family, ready
Speaker 4: made friends, and we're up and running.
Speaker 2: Well. That's good to hear because I actually coached Gracie
Speaker 2: at Saint cath so I'm glad that she's settled in nicely.
Speaker 2: Hey cas Well, you've settled in rather well. Two wins
Speaker 2: from two with the Firebirds, and you compare that to
Speaker 2: your season last year with the Stars, where you only
Speaker 2: won two games across the whole year. The Firebirds won four.
Speaker 2: You're halfway there two rounds in. I mean, it's a
Speaker 2: pretty good start for you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it is.
Speaker 4: It was good to get confirmation of how we were feeling.
Speaker 4: So obviously the Firebirds had a lot of work to
Speaker 4: do coming out of twenty twenty four. There's been a
Speaker 4: lot of disruption at the club. We wanted to settle in,
Speaker 4: sort of put a stake in the ground about who
Speaker 4: we are. So all of that work happened October and
Speaker 4: Ovimba last year, and then from there it's been feeling
Speaker 4: really good. But you always, every team in pre season
Speaker 4: that I've been in charge with, pre season feels great.
Speaker 3: Everything's going really well, you know.
Speaker 4: And so then we went Team Girls Cup and had
Speaker 4: a bit of a wake up call. I must put
Speaker 4: some context around that.
Speaker 3: Though.
Speaker 4: We'd sat through Cyclone Alfred, who yes, by the time
Speaker 4: he hit us wasn't actually a cyclone anymore, just a
Speaker 4: tropical storm.
Speaker 3: But we're not trained for eight days.
Speaker 4: We've been sort of locked in our houses in that time,
Speaker 4: and we started really slow and happened to play the
Speaker 4: Fever who I keep telling people they beat us seventeen
Speaker 4: to six in the first quarter. So I questioned. I
Speaker 4: came out of that game really questioning, do I actually know?
Speaker 3: Am I actually should I be here? Like I know
Speaker 3: what I'm doing.
Speaker 4: I had all of that going on, But then from
Speaker 4: there the team really responded and we steadily grew what
Speaker 4: I'm really loving about this team is when they say something,
Speaker 4: they actually go out there and do it. So off
Speaker 4: the back of that Fever Team Girls Cup game, I said, look,
Speaker 4: we're making basic eras, stepping how bulls, you know, real
Speaker 4: nigga little things that you know, little coach killers that
Speaker 4: we have to get rid of in our game.
Speaker 3: It's not good enough. And they went out there and
Speaker 3: they reduced the ERA right by fifty percent.
Speaker 4: So from that wake up Caull, we were feeling good
Speaker 4: and so to have that sort of confirmation through two
Speaker 4: more wins in competition has been really good for us.
Speaker 2: You've obviously now dealt with Australian athletes and New Zealand athletes,
Speaker 2: and you're talking there about adjusting to changes or what
Speaker 2: needs to be made. How do you compare the two athletes.
Speaker 2: Is there obvious difference between a New Zealand athlete and
Speaker 2: an Australian athlete. You've obviously talked about resources as well, So
Speaker 2: what's been obvious to you early?
Speaker 4: I think it's actually the similar similarities A dean like
Speaker 4: you know, I clearly have been chosen for this role
Speaker 4: because of my background in terms of bringing teams together.
Speaker 4: And one of the questions that I was asked in
Speaker 4: my interview was did I think that the culture and
Speaker 4: the values that the Australian athletes would aspire to be like,
Speaker 4: would they be any different to what New Zealand athletes
Speaker 4: aspire to be?
Speaker 3: How would that look different?
Speaker 4: And I truly believe that anyone who's involved in team sport,
Speaker 4: we're here because we want to belong to something bigger
Speaker 4: than ourselves, and that certainly has played out with this team.
Speaker 4: It's not been that much different at all. And then
Speaker 4: I thought, well, maybe the way that they express those values,
Speaker 4: or the values that they prioritize, maybe that looks a
Speaker 4: little bit different, but again, very very similar to the
Speaker 4: stuff that I've done with the Stars.
Speaker 3: It was the same sort of message in coming out.
Speaker 4: I think one of the big things here though, is
Speaker 4: that Queenslander grit and relentlessness and mongrel, you know, like
Speaker 4: they really embrace that here. And I actually said to them,
Speaker 4: you know, coming from New Zealand and being a bit
Speaker 4: of a League fan, that's what we know Queensland is for.
Speaker 4: And you know the Firebirds when they were back in
Speaker 4: their heyday, you just knew that they would never go away,
Speaker 4: that they would fight it out right to the last minute,
Speaker 4: and they truly embraced that as athletes and every training,
Speaker 4: every session, that's what they present and they front up
Speaker 4: and they roll up. And for the first time yesterday
Speaker 4: I actually questioned them because they were naked. We'd smashed
Speaker 4: them a bit, and I was like, right, is this
Speaker 4: who we are? Are we mongrel enough here? And they
Speaker 4: were like, no, no, okay, the way we went.
Speaker 1: Again, that's awesome.
Speaker 2: So, I mean, you talk about culture, cas and you
Speaker 2: often talk about the fact that that is a real
Speaker 2: strength of yours as a coach.
Speaker 1: As being a culture.
Speaker 2: Coach, I mean, was there a lot in that space
Speaker 2: that you had to work on when you got over there,
Speaker 2: given the past challenges of the club.
Speaker 3: I think for me it's.
Speaker 4: I thought, I thought that I would have to do
Speaker 4: a lot more than I ended up doing, if that
Speaker 4: makes sense, because we all listen to the media and
Speaker 4: we all hear about the challenges and we and we
Speaker 4: you know, like I did my homework prior to one applying,
Speaker 4: two interviewing, and then three accepting.
Speaker 3: I didn't want to come into.
Speaker 4: A space where I felt like I'd be, you know,
Speaker 4: pushing the proverbial uphill.
Speaker 3: I wanted to come to a.
Speaker 4: Place where if they were really going to back me,
Speaker 4: then then I would come. And so before I accepted
Speaker 4: the job, I was actually flown over here to check
Speaker 4: the place out, meet with the CEO, meet with my
Speaker 4: new boss, meet with my staff, and I came away
Speaker 4: feeling like this is actually not the mountain I thought
Speaker 4: it was going to be to climb. We just need
Speaker 4: to tidy things up. And you know, culture is led
Speaker 4: by your head coach, So as long as I did
Speaker 4: my job well, I felt like I had the support
Speaker 4: and I definitely had the support of the players to
Speaker 4: come in and help them. Yeah, basically, that's what it was.
Speaker 4: And I didn't do anything different from the process that
Speaker 4: I would normally go through with a team. We did
Speaker 4: exactly the same thing. The only thing I did do
Speaker 4: that was different was that I wanted to remind them
Speaker 4: how great this club was. And part of their homework
Speaker 4: before they came into their first culture session was to
Speaker 4: watch those Grand Finals that the by Birds won and
Speaker 4: the am Z Championships with your Laura Guitts's Cleire mcmanimon's
Speaker 4: those players and tell me what you see, Tell me
Speaker 4: what you see, what you hear, what you feel when
Speaker 4: you watch those games, and that was an amazing process
Speaker 4: to go through.
Speaker 2: We've seen the reports about how excited you were about
Speaker 2: the resources and things in Australia compared to New Zealand.
Speaker 2: And you know, we're speaking with Grace only a couple
Speaker 2: of weeks ago and she said, it's quite different. You
Speaker 2: come in it a time in the morning, you're all
Speaker 2: together into whatever time in the afternoon. You can do everything,
Speaker 2: your wait, whatever, it is, all in one space. Is
Speaker 2: it the same for you? Is that a difference from
Speaker 2: what you had here in New Zealand?
Speaker 4: Yes, I think both Grace and I are really fortunate
Speaker 4: that we are in clubs that belong to or are.
Speaker 3: With a state body. So we're with Netble, Queensland.
Speaker 4: So when I walk through the doors in the morning,
Speaker 4: I walk into an office that has around thirty staff
Speaker 4: working in the state, you know, working in community marketing events.
Speaker 4: We've got a huge team in swifts are exactly the same.
Speaker 4: And if you think about lightning, pent and giants, they're
Speaker 4: slightly different. They don't have as well, I know, the lightning.
Speaker 4: They don't sit in office with us. They're up at
Speaker 4: the coast and they're set up slightly different, but here
Speaker 4: you wouldn't believe it.
Speaker 3: I had vic Edward. She's not for Edward anymore.
Speaker 4: She came and she came and visited us, visited me
Speaker 4: here and just showing her through, Like you walk through
Speaker 4: our doors.
Speaker 3: You go down a corridor, there's.
Speaker 4: Netball Queensland paraphernalia purple all the way through it. There's
Speaker 4: little stickers on the mirror saying you look good in purple.
Speaker 3: You go down.
Speaker 4: We've got a huge commercial sized gym that's purely ours,
Speaker 4: so we don't share that with anyone. Then you go
Speaker 4: into the locker rooms and it's all decked out. The
Speaker 4: players have their own locker with play a number of
Speaker 4: the person who had it before them and before them,
Speaker 4: so someone might have, like I think Giz is about
Speaker 4: sheer has got Laura Geittz's locker and she knows that,
Speaker 4: you know, Like it's just all those really cool things
Speaker 4: that we just unfortunately don't have.
Speaker 3: It's just not the same set up in New Zealand.
Speaker 3: And so you're not.
Speaker 1: Doing you're not doing hot colds and rubbish bins.
Speaker 3: In other words, no, we're not.
Speaker 4: We've got these fancy pool things that you can push
Speaker 4: on the wall.
Speaker 3: It's like air conditioning.
Speaker 4: You push the number in of how hot or cold
Speaker 4: you want that ice bath, and then you go from
Speaker 4: one to the other.
Speaker 2: How does how does how does your input? Mary Cholott
Speaker 2: go jumping in those ice baths?
Speaker 4: Or she's not up to her knees like she would
Speaker 4: be in she's you know and in her in emode like.
Speaker 4: I haven't talked to them too much in depth about it,
Speaker 4: but I know that just the setup for all three
Speaker 4: of us is a lot different to what we used to. Yeah,
Speaker 4: so she's up to her she's up to her waist
Speaker 4: in those.
Speaker 2: Pools I imagine two point zero seven. I think she
Speaker 2: stands Mary Cholick at that. Hey, because there's been a
Speaker 2: lot of talk back here about you know, Grace Nowiki
Speaker 2: and the eligibility rule for the Silver Ferns. I mean,
Speaker 2: as a coach, what's your what's your take on that?
Speaker 2: Do you think you know she should have an exemption
Speaker 2: to play for the Silver fans?
Speaker 3: All tough question, any because I think you.
Speaker 2: Like tough questions as I feel like they It should
Speaker 2: have been sorted before she came here, really ideally, because
Speaker 2: I'm certain she's not the only player that has been
Speaker 2: in you know, conversations with Australian clubs.
Speaker 4: She's she's the brave one who's made the move and gone. Actually,
Speaker 4: you know what, I'm prepared to stand down for a year.
Speaker 4: But if they exempt her this year for this cycle,
Speaker 4: it possibly means that other players who chose to stay
Speaker 4: because of the eligibility. The point actually that you know,
Speaker 4: like I just it's it's not as clear. I think
Speaker 4: it's it's difficult also because there's no guarantee around twenty
Speaker 4: twenty six, so it's it's a bit of a mine field.
Speaker 4: I think she's absolutely made the right choice for her career.
Speaker 4: It is a lot tougher here, you know, like week
Speaker 4: she was up against Shamira Sterling. It's you know, that
Speaker 4: kind of experience is you just can't be replicated currently
Speaker 4: in the am Z Premiership. So for her own growth
Speaker 4: and development, she's absolutely made the right choice. But you know,
Speaker 4: coming in halfway through and making an exemption now as
Speaker 4: opposed to earlier when other people could have got on
Speaker 4: board as well, I think that's pretty tough because you're
Speaker 4: not operating not everyone's operating under the same rules.
Speaker 2: Yeah, although she was the brave one to win anyway.
Speaker 2: So yeah, I mean there's arguments either way, isn't there.
Speaker 2: But you've just tapped you raised it. Then twenty twenty
Speaker 2: six in New Zealand. Goodness knows what's going to happen.
Speaker 2: None of us know what the competition's going to look like.
Speaker 2: What has been pleasing to hear as we heard Lisa
Speaker 2: Alexander Sharnid to speak, I think it was last week
Speaker 2: and and she said, actually, we're quite like a couple
Speaker 2: of New Zealand things back over here. So you're starting
Speaker 2: to hear what we are hearing over here is Ozzie Potentially.
Speaker 1: They want they want us.
Speaker 2: Should should New Zealand be playing in it? And come on,
Speaker 2: give me a number of teams? It should be there
Speaker 2: as well. If you had you know, if we had
Speaker 2: endless resources, the perfect scenario, what would it be trans Tasmin.
Speaker 4: I think I think if you if you had endless resources,
Speaker 4: then you would you'd want to have two to four
Speaker 4: teams in. I think that the reality of the resourcing
Speaker 4: is that two would be I think the max that
Speaker 4: you could you could get in over here, because it just.
Speaker 3: Increases the cost of travel.
Speaker 4: Travel itself these days has skyrocketed. Like to get a
Speaker 4: team anywhere these days is so expensive you've got to
Speaker 4: be able to pay the bills.
Speaker 3: I will say.
Speaker 4: That everyone I've talked to here, absolutely, everyone I've talked
Speaker 4: to want New Zealand. Yes, in some way, shape or
Speaker 4: form involved in this compition. There is a concern, there
Speaker 4: is a genuine concern that if New Zealand is not
Speaker 4: involved in this competition that we will fall behind that
Speaker 4: the Silver Ferns. While with Nolane, with someone like Grace
Speaker 4: and the team we are, the thinking is that we're
Speaker 4: boxing above our weight because our competition doesn't.
Speaker 3: Really stack up.
Speaker 4: That's the feeling over here, That's what I'm hearing. And Australia,
Speaker 4: you know, we see them as the enemy, but actually
Speaker 4: they don't want to see that. They want to They
Speaker 4: want New Zealand to continue to be competitive. They see
Speaker 4: us as a traditional foe. They know how important the
Speaker 4: Silver Ferns are from an international perspective in terms of
Speaker 4: making sure that there are a lot of teams biting
Speaker 4: it out for those top spots. So that's been the
Speaker 4: conversations that I've had here, and they're quite open about it.
Speaker 3: It would be it always comes down to money.
Speaker 1: Yeah, always does. We'd love to see it too.
Speaker 2: But because you've talked about what an amazing experience you've
Speaker 2: had over there so far, the resources, is there anything
Speaker 2: from home that you think we do better than Australians,
Speaker 2: anything you're missing from home?
Speaker 4: I do think, I do think we should be really
Speaker 4: proud of the product that we put out there at
Speaker 4: that top level that we can turn around and win
Speaker 4: one against Australia and one against England and those sorts
Speaker 4: of things with the limited with the with now, what
Speaker 4: I see as the disparity in terms of resourcing for
Speaker 4: our franchise coaches.
Speaker 3: And their teams.
Speaker 4: You know, what we can produce with limited resourcing does
Speaker 4: make our system a lot more flexible.
Speaker 3: When I say our saying New Zealand.
Speaker 4: It shows the flexibility and thinking, our resourcefulness, our ability
Speaker 4: to get around things, the commitment that people make to
Speaker 4: doing the jobs that they're getting paid. You know, like
Speaker 4: the assistant coaches in the Ains Premiership get paid absolutely nothing.
Speaker 4: Over here, I've got a full time assistant coach.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 4: So I just I just think the sacrifices that people
Speaker 4: make and the commitment that they give to make sure
Speaker 4: that we put out good product in New Zealand is outstanding.
Speaker 2: Yeah, oh well answered, well, we have loved watching you
Speaker 2: over there, and it's awesome to see a key we
Speaker 2: coach go over there and be successful so quickly. We
Speaker 2: hope you're going to have a big one against the
Speaker 2: Lightning on Saturday.
Speaker 3: From three.
Speaker 2: But before you go, we've we've got this little segment
Speaker 2: that we call Fast five. Grace absolutely noiled at last week.
Speaker 2: We were thinking it was supposed to be fast five
Speaker 2: as quick and she gave us detailed answers. But she
Speaker 2: loves her food, obviously because she certainly had details. But anyway,
Speaker 2: we've got five questions, just a bit of fun, mostly
Speaker 2: targeted at athletes.
Speaker 1: But you were an athlete still, I'm sure you've.
Speaker 3: Got I have to dig deep into the archives.
Speaker 2: I bet you still put the BIB on when they
Speaker 2: need someone ext you're on defense. But right, first question,
Speaker 2: if you could compete or could have competed in any
Speaker 2: other sport, what would it have been?
Speaker 3: Per thing?
Speaker 1: Oh you do love you for that? Okay?
Speaker 2: Who and your team and your Firebirds team is likely
Speaker 2: to get into trouble and then be get you out
Speaker 2: of trouble.
Speaker 3: I think, Emma jan Allison.
Speaker 1: Oh, she a naughty girl.
Speaker 3: He's a good check. You guys would love her. She's
Speaker 3: saying about us, carry.
Speaker 2: Would you get get you out of trouble as well?
Speaker 2: Who would get you out of trouble? Is you're a
Speaker 2: lawyer on the team, you can call or.
Speaker 3: I think I think she'd get me out of trouble.
Speaker 4: Chris's kind of got that demeanor of she's not going
Speaker 4: to come in too hard, She's going to talk.
Speaker 3: She's going to talk the authorities say, you know, kiss
Speaker 3: is a great person, So she'd get you out of trouble.
Speaker 1: So who would get you into trouble? The team?
Speaker 4: You feel like tippers one. I think she's a silent
Speaker 4: assassin that way.
Speaker 2: Okay, three athletes. If you're sitting at a table and
Speaker 2: you're having dinner, three athletes, prison or pass anywhere from
Speaker 2: anywhere in the world, who would be sitting at your table? Oh?
Speaker 4: I would like to Noah Lyles that I was a
Speaker 4: good doctor to provide entertainment. I'm a little bit of
Speaker 4: a tennis fan, so I would I would grab Serena
Speaker 4: Williams it just to check out what she's what's going
Speaker 4: on with her, and then for.
Speaker 3: A Kiwi Flavor. You got to go with Lisa Carrington.
Speaker 2: Nice the goat, Yeah great, Okay, what's your last supper meal?
Speaker 3: Kiz oh it would be or no boring, I'll go.
Speaker 4: My parents always asked me what I'd want for dinner
Speaker 4: on my last you know, for my birthdays, and always
Speaker 4: meat roast chicken with all the wickens.
Speaker 1: That is a bit boring. Do you have gravy with it?
Speaker 4: Though?
Speaker 3: You got you got to have your commodore, you got
Speaker 3: to have your pease.
Speaker 1: Everything right and lucky. Last best piece of advice you've
Speaker 1: ever been given.
Speaker 3: You're not here for a long time, so be here
Speaker 3: for a good time. Ladies.
Speaker 2: Love it, love it really. I appreciate your tie. We
Speaker 2: wish you all the best. It's been awesome watching across
Speaker 2: the Tasman and seeing the Kiwi flavor over there.
Speaker 1: All the best for Saturday, good last inside.
Speaker 2: Thank you, getting all the best for you and pending
Speaker 2: match against the Lightning Well Annie, so much to unpack there.
Speaker 2: She loves a chair, she loves that chit. She looks
Speaker 2: good in purple. Isn't it interesting? She's gone from the
Speaker 2: stars that are purple to the five birds that are purple?
Speaker 2: She's taken any of Augustine here in purple and pink
Speaker 2: as well. Interesting tet, that wasn't it. I quite like
Speaker 2: the fact that she says, you know, good old Kiwi's
Speaker 2: were actually bat well above you know, and in terms
Speaker 2: of the resource gap that there is between the two nations,
Speaker 2: that we do pretty well, so you know, go the
Speaker 2: Kiwi's especially, I mean she was at the Stars. The
Speaker 2: Stars in particular have always had to do it tough.
Speaker 2: Knew New Zealand has been supported in the Stars for
Speaker 2: many years. The other thing I loved, you know, there's
Speaker 2: a consensus, it seems over and all, that they want
Speaker 2: New Zealand back back in this comp You get the
Speaker 2: sense it might be more like two teams than four,
Speaker 2: or maybe they just want our players. I don't know,
Speaker 2: but it's just nice to know that the senses that
Speaker 2: are open to it. So I think that that gives
Speaker 2: us hope that potentially, maybe not twenty two six, maybe
Speaker 2: twenty three seven. And for a long time, the Sun
Speaker 2: Corp has always pitched itself as one of the best
Speaker 2: in the world, and look, to be honest, it probably is.
Speaker 2: But you know, I think they want some change and
Speaker 2: I think a good change would be to bring a
Speaker 2: couple of KEYWI sides in, so let's hope.
Speaker 1: So anyway, moving forward.
Speaker 2: Well, they've stolen Grace already, but we've stolen one back. Well,
Speaker 2: let's break down the teams nor the Mystics. They've got
Speaker 2: three changes from last year, the twenty twenty four champions.
Speaker 2: Grace has gone, but what a replacement we got. One
Speaker 2: of the changes Danell Willom. She is still is an
Speaker 2: Australian Diamonds squad, another really tall holding shooter, A huge
Speaker 2: get for the Mystics. Yeah, well they needed to replace Grace,
Speaker 2: didn't they, Because really you look at the Mystics game
Speaker 2: and it all centered around Grace at the back. So
Speaker 2: Willum comes in with forty one sun caught matches eleven
Speaker 2: Super League and of course has been in the Aussie
Speaker 2: squad since between twenty twenty two and twenty twenty four,
Speaker 2: so huge amount of experience. I guess the key for
Speaker 2: the Mystics is how well will she go at the back?
Speaker 2: How well will the fee feed her? Because you look
Speaker 2: at who they've got in the mid court, Earl Toyava, TiO.
Speaker 2: Earl and Toyava were the top two feeders in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty four. If you go back on the stats, so
Speaker 2: you kind of go were they the best too because
Speaker 2: they had Grace at the back or were they the
Speaker 2: best two because they are great feeders? And I guess
Speaker 2: time will tell at the back this year with Wallom,
Speaker 2: she probably moves a little bit more than Wecky did,
Speaker 2: not as tall, so that will be the challenge for
Speaker 2: the Mystics, I think defensively, I just don't know how
Speaker 2: strong they will be.
Speaker 1: That's my change is.
Speaker 2: There, isn't it the lost Karstve and Kadaka replacing them
Speaker 2: with Holly Fowler. She's now a Holly Ray and Charlotte Manly.
Speaker 2: What do you think of those two editions? Yes, well
Speaker 2: Manly she comes in. She was a training partner last year.
Speaker 2: She's at New Zealand under twenty one. She was with
Speaker 2: the Marvels a few years prior to being a training
Speaker 2: partner for the Mystics, so this is her time to shine.
Speaker 2: Of course, you've got Socolch beats in that can swing
Speaker 2: in that defense end as well. Catherine Hall was a
Speaker 2: player that really came to light last year for the Mystics,
Speaker 2: the young medical student at the back. So looking forward,
Speaker 2: to seeing how she goes. But I just am very
Speaker 2: wary of the lack of experience down that defense end,
Speaker 2: which could for.
Speaker 1: Me keep the mystics out of that top two.
Speaker 2: I mean, you've got Wallom, You've got Glenn and Vouie
Speaker 2: in the middle. Vowie, she'll be good on the two
Speaker 2: point shot.
Speaker 1: I think for the sticks it's going to be key. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so that'll be key.
Speaker 2: But you know what, I actually don't know if I'm
Speaker 2: going to put Misticks in my top two. Not even
Speaker 2: I'll just throw that one out there.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 1: They are the defending champs.
Speaker 2: They've actually won it twice over the last three years,
Speaker 2: but that was with Grace Wiki, and we can see
Speaker 2: the impact that she's having with the Swifts already. They've
Speaker 2: just beaten the Thunderbirds over in Australia. So her contribution
Speaker 2: as a shooter Grace Wiki is massive. Will Wallam be
Speaker 2: able to replace her?
Speaker 1: Time will tell It's going to be an interesting one.
Speaker 2: I'm going to wait till next episode until I'm going
Speaker 2: to are pulling out her. I think's going to be
Speaker 2: in the top two or three. All the mixed sticks
Speaker 2: I think will be in the mix. But I agree
Speaker 2: perhaps that experience on that defense end. As you said,
Speaker 2: Mikaela Sockletch speaks and she will lead the team.
Speaker 1: Well all the things.
Speaker 2: They've been playing Toyava apparently at goal attack over the
Speaker 2: Otechi tournament that was recently played. They played her at
Speaker 2: goal attack in other games in their preseason.
Speaker 1: Unsure what that?
Speaker 2: What's going on there because she is the shortest player
Speaker 2: in the Ains Premiership and why would you move someone
Speaker 2: who's so brilliant at wing attacks. I should clearly be
Speaker 2: playing a feeding role if she's at goal attack. But
Speaker 2: you know, maybe that's something that she's got up her sleeve.
Speaker 2: Tia Winner, Kerry the coach trump card Toyava at gold
Speaker 2: attack home hotel see.
Speaker 1: I think it's gonna be a tough one between Hannah
Speaker 1: Glenn and Fielder. Those two.
Speaker 2: They almost halved that goal attack position next year last year,
Speaker 2: so interesting. We'll leave a question mark for MEA sticks,
Speaker 2: you're going not in your top.
Speaker 1: To my top two? Ouch?
Speaker 2: Okay, go the Stars now they have arguably got the
Speaker 2: most changes of any team. And that's not just players,
Speaker 2: that's just all about a Bailey. She's back from a
Speaker 2: stint three stint Titans on the Gold Coast and Leander
Speaker 2: dubrayin we know what impact she had as a player.
Speaker 2: They're back coaching and yes, five changes to players.
Speaker 1: Let's start with the coaches. What impact.
Speaker 2: Bubby's got quite a bit of experience now coaching, so instantly,
Speaker 2: I think she's going to have a huge influence. Yeah,
Speaker 2: well she's coming home. She's a South Auckland girl. I
Speaker 2: think she'll connect well with her players. She's had a
Speaker 2: great relationship as a player with Leanna Dubray. Now they're
Speaker 2: joining forces. So by all accounts, you know they're going
Speaker 2: well in terms of their partnership. So you know, Bubby
Speaker 2: was one of the best mid quarters that New Zealand
Speaker 2: has ever produced. I think she's she's done her time
Speaker 2: over in Australia putting in the work with the I
Speaker 2: think it was the Sapphires or the Titans, you said, So,
Speaker 2: I think this this is her time now to step
Speaker 2: up into that head coaching role. And you know she's
Speaker 2: got some great players under her, picked up a couple
Speaker 2: of players from Australia.
Speaker 1: You've got Remo Carmo from the Firebirds.
Speaker 2: You've got Charlie Bell who's come from Sunshine Coast, Lightning.
Speaker 1: She was a training partner tall me to ninety seven
Speaker 1: Charlie Bell.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Mila really bechan and of course she'll be the
Speaker 2: anchor in the mid court.
Speaker 1: She's coming back from her knee injury last year.
Speaker 2: And the good old trustee Maya Wilson, who's at the back,
Speaker 2: well kept in the side again.
Speaker 1: But again I just think same with the Mystics.
Speaker 2: Defensively is perhaps where they could fall short. The Stars
Speaker 2: they've got Burle Took, ad A Door and Remo Carmo,
Speaker 2: who we don't know too much about given she played
Speaker 2: in Australia last year. But you look at the stats
Speaker 2: Maya Wilson from last year, she shot more goals than
Speaker 2: any other shooter in the league. She actually put up
Speaker 2: more goals than Grace and Wiki. So attacking wise, they
Speaker 2: get the ball to her. I just don't think defensively
Speaker 2: last year they got enough ball to stay in every
Speaker 2: game they played. They're only won two throughout the whole season.
Speaker 2: Look I bummed into Evil yesterday and surprise, surprise, she's
Speaker 2: been at a few Stars practices. You know obviously are
Speaker 2: very tight with Timmy Pitter and Leanna and she said
Speaker 2: Charlie Beale has been playing in that goal shoot position.
Speaker 2: That's where she is not for it a meet in
Speaker 2: ninety seven. What it means is Maa Wilson can play
Speaker 2: goal attack. And we've seen her briefly there. I think
Speaker 2: if we flick our minds very briefly to the sil ferns,
Speaker 2: this is a great opportunity for Maya, right, you know,
Speaker 2: that's where the space is available. I know we're going
Speaker 2: to Miliaani Canasio, but what a great opportunity and maybe
Speaker 2: just a little bit of a refresh for Maya Wilson
Speaker 2: going into this year. She's got good vision, She's got
Speaker 2: good spatial awareness as a goal attack, so she will
Speaker 2: be good at being able to you know, see the
Speaker 2: vision into the circle and feed her shooters. I just
Speaker 2: question her fitness at goal attack. I personally think she's
Speaker 2: better at the back at goal shoot. But I see
Speaker 2: what you know, where you're going with you know grace
Speaker 2: and Wiki's got that If we let her back into
Speaker 2: the silver firm bib, she's got that goal shoot position,
Speaker 2: so on up. So it's not a silly move for
Speaker 2: Maya to perhaps you know, push that goal attack position
Speaker 2: and try and get better at it.
Speaker 1: So yeah, lots of changes for the Stars.
Speaker 2: I'm excited to see what Bubby and Leanna can do.
Speaker 2: Great to hear that they've got Evon coming into doing
Speaker 2: doing some work. The other person I'm really looking forward
Speaker 2: to seeing is Monica Faultner baby after having her baby.
Speaker 1: We saw her come in just for a few games
Speaker 1: last year.
Speaker 2: She was a few years ago going to be the
Speaker 2: next big thing as a goal attack. She moves lovely,
Speaker 2: very Natalie. I made my first kind of Schrell McMahon
Speaker 2: kind of goal attack. So looking forward to seeing how
Speaker 2: she's come back post baby, because you know she's got
Speaker 2: some great skills and she could work in well with
Speaker 2: either bal or Wilson. The other good get for me
Speaker 2: is Grierson. She's come up from the tactic She's just
Speaker 2: I think she made mostly wing defense for the Tactics
Speaker 2: since she last year, and she can just be quite
Speaker 2: a disruptor, and so I think that's a really good get.
Speaker 2: They did get fifth last year. The Stars.
Speaker 1: Are they going to improve on fifth?
Speaker 2: Yeah? No, I think I think they'll be in my
Speaker 2: bottom two. They'll be in my bottom two. The Stars,
Speaker 2: I think it's going to be tough. I think they're
Speaker 2: going to be somewhere around that middle. So if we
Speaker 2: go down State Highway one and we hit Waikato Bay
Speaker 2: of plenty Magic least changes of any team, they've only
Speaker 2: had one. They got fourth last year, but they were
Speaker 2: pretty unlucky really. I think they had the most wins
Speaker 2: ever nine I think it was in a season, and
Speaker 2: in fact it was way back in twenty fourteen, since
Speaker 2: I'd had nine wins. They if you remember back, they
Speaker 2: only were quite unlucky to miss out on the elimination final.
Speaker 2: It came down to their eat last game. They had
Speaker 2: to win, and they did. Then it came down to
Speaker 2: leaving the Stars to beat the Mystics. I think it was,
Speaker 2: which didn't happen Mystics one. So they only just missed out.
Speaker 2: And I remember last year often when we were talking
Speaker 2: about the Magic, You're like, it's so close. They were
Speaker 2: so close. And the changes here Kate Taylor is in,
Speaker 2: Ivana Roland is out. But otherwise this is looking like
Speaker 2: a very settled lineup. And we spoke a lot last year,
Speaker 2: Savior toy Emeliani Canasio, what a great combination.
Speaker 1: Will they be even better this year?
Speaker 2: Dynamic? Yes, Wow, this team is in my top two
Speaker 2: a day. I'm putting the Magic in my top two.
Speaker 1: There you go.
Speaker 2: I thought what we saw of the Magic last year,
Speaker 2: they are only going to build on what they created
Speaker 2: last year. And the fact that they have retained all
Speaker 2: these players, to me is a big one because it
Speaker 2: suggests the culture is right. MJ has done something where
Speaker 2: these players haven't wanted to go and look at other
Speaker 2: teams to play for. They actually want to come back
Speaker 2: and play for the Magic. So that to me says
Speaker 2: the culture is right. You know, they've retained Edgecombe, who
Speaker 2: by all accounts did some good great stuff at the
Speaker 2: recent O Techi tournament.
Speaker 1: You've got she was on the high rails all the time.
Speaker 2: You've got Claire O'Brien who became a silver Fern last
Speaker 2: year playing for the Magic. And then you've got DeBono
Speaker 2: and Wilsha in the mid court. As you say, Ichinasio
Speaker 2: and TwUI they will run that attacking end both dynamic,
Speaker 2: accurate two he can jump her elevations amazing. And then
Speaker 2: you've got Mikada who's you know, the strong and steady
Speaker 2: at the back with Tong who and Mahi Ocean Mahi
Speaker 2: that can come up with some great ball defensively. The
Speaker 2: other thing is, remember Echinasio will be a good two
Speaker 2: point shooter, so the Magic very outage. You know, get
Speaker 2: that deficit down in those last five minutes of each
Speaker 2: quarter with the likes of an Echinatio shooting those two pointers,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 1: The only change. As you said, Kate Taylor, she's.
Speaker 2: Been in the New Zealand under twenty one squad so
Speaker 2: she could be going to Jibralfa in September for that
Speaker 2: World Cup, so great opportunity for her. So yeah, I
Speaker 2: I'm just excited about what this Magic side can do.
Speaker 2: And from all accounts, there was some good stuff that
Speaker 2: they put out at the Otaki tournament.
Speaker 1: I think they were unbeaten.
Speaker 2: I think they had a drawer against the Tactics, but
Speaker 2: otherwise the Poles thrash the whole team to be fair,
Speaker 2: and the Steels, so you know, that will give them
Speaker 2: good confidence. I actually think too. I was reading I
Speaker 2: can't remember it as an article on Instagram, but Ameliani
Speaker 2: Canaso has moved to the Bay. She has been commuting
Speaker 2: for many years between the Bay and Wellington and stuff
Speaker 2: that is she was doing with babies, you know, dropping
Speaker 2: children off. I actually think that's going to be a
Speaker 2: huge influence having her there all the time, because you
Speaker 2: know everyone talks about Amelia Rand's presence, right and now
Speaker 2: she's not just going to be turning up for the
Speaker 2: two team trainings. She's going to be there when they're
Speaker 2: doing weights, she's going to be there when they're doing
Speaker 2: the pool sessions. That when you've got a leader like that,
Speaker 2: how much of an influence does it have having them
Speaker 2: around full time?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Well she creates the time, doesn't she of that? And
Speaker 2: you know we saw last year that that culture just
Speaker 2: started to come. So that's why I think we've we've
Speaker 2: only seen we haven't seen the best of the magic yet.
Speaker 2: We saw snippets last year and I think this year, yeah,
Speaker 2: that they will build on that confidence and you know
Speaker 2: you've got some young ones in there that are ready
Speaker 2: ready to show up. Tuy O'Brien, you know, she only
Speaker 2: had a couple of games for the Ferns. She'll be
Speaker 2: wanting to sort of get stuck in that mid court position.
Speaker 2: And then of course, yeah Tom at the back, who
Speaker 2: is one of those players that just comes up with
Speaker 2: ball and the Ains Premiership gets her hand to ball.
Speaker 2: She was very good on deflections I think second on
Speaker 2: the table last year for intercepts and deflections, so you
Speaker 2: know defensively can get her hand to ball.
Speaker 1: So yeah, Magic is one of my teams in.
Speaker 3: The top two.
Speaker 2: So I wonder who my second team. I have to
Speaker 2: find out next week. You're going to have to listen
Speaker 2: next week. And you're confusing me. You keep saying Tom
Speaker 2: tuck it if all these.
Speaker 1: Girls keep getting married? Who married name? Okay, I've gone
Speaker 1: back to Tom.
Speaker 2: Yes, you're back in twenty twenty three, in twenty twenty four,
Speaker 2: so no, I agree. I think the Magic if they
Speaker 2: don't make it to that top three, I would be
Speaker 2: very very surprised. As we spoke about earlier, they only
Speaker 2: just missed out. They're the most settled Emilia is there.
Speaker 2: I think that's going to have a huge influence. So okay,
Speaker 2: so there's one team that you haven't chosen yet. There's
Speaker 2: gonna be any your top three, and we're gonna go
Speaker 2: over those next week, so you've gotta make sure you listen.
Speaker 2: We'll break down the remaining three teams and we'll give
Speaker 2: our picks for titled contenders. Imagine if Jenny's gonna Tuesday,
Speaker 2: if she comes back from wherever she is. Yes, we
Speaker 2: have to make sure she's here for the next episode.
Speaker 2: But until then, remember you can download Inside Netball on
Speaker 2: iHeartRadio wherever you get your podcasts. Into a next episode,
Speaker 2: Matua